Controlling mechanism for mold-ramming machines



. Sept. 17, 1929. J. STONE CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOLD RAMMINGMACHINES Filed Aug. 15. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet NVENTOR.

B j, fzfru MWUWM A TTORNEYj Sept. 17 1929. 'J STONE 1,728,705

CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOLD RAMMING MACHINES Filed Aug. 15. 1928 5Sheets-Sheet 2 /IIIIIIIA 66 26 INVENTOR.

1297 MUQW A TTORNEYJ Sept. 17, 1929. J. STONE 1,728,705

CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOLD RAMMING MACHINES Filed Aug. 15, 1928 3Sheets-Sheet 3 HIM 42 N w n I I I INVENTOR. J BY A TTORNEYJ PatentedSept. 17, 1929 PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH STONE, F BESSEMER, ALABAMACONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOLD-RAMMING MACHINES Application filed August15, 1928. Serial No. 299,765.

This invention relates to improvements in connection with the moldramming machine patented by me on March 8th, 1927, No. 1,620,406. Theimprovements constituting the subject matter of the present applicationrelate more particularly to the automatic controlling mechanism, bymeans of which the side peans or rammers and the butt rammers are set inoperation, permitted to make a predetermined number of strokes, and arethen stopped.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine of my prior patent, with theimprovements of the present application incorporated therein.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of one of the stop discs, hereinafter described.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section, illustrating one of the stopdiscs and associated parts,

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of one of the pawls, hereinafterdescribed.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the driving mechanism,

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the clutch and brake mechanism,hereinafter described, and

Figs. 7 and 8 are side and end elevations of rammers, hereinafterdescribed.

And Figs. 9 and 10 are detail front and plan views, respectively, of thecontrol levers and associated parts, hereinafter described.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of thedrawing.

In the drawings 5 designates a machine such as is illustrated in myprior patent. Side rammers 6 and 7, and butt rammers 8 are operated bycranks 9, 10 and 11, from transverse shafts 12, 13 and 14. These shaftsare, in turn, driven through large gear wheels 15, 16 and 17, from amain longitudinal driving shaft 18. So far, the structure described issubstantially like that of my prior patent. However, in the priorpatent, the large gear wheels for driving the transverse shafts 12, 13and 14 were not fast upon said transverse shafts, but were clutchedthereto at the proper time by special clutches. According to the presentconstruction, these individual clutches for the several gear wheels arediscarded together with their more or less complicated actuatingmechanisms, and a much more compact, economical and reliable structureis substituted therefor.

According to the present invention, the driving motor 19 drives throughpinion 20 and silencer gear 21 to a main driving gear 24. My improvedclutch mechanism is mounted directly upon the drive shaft 18. The gear24 is free upon said shaft, and drives the shaft 18, when a clutchcollar 25 is shifted toward the left in Fig. 6, and into engagement withthe gear 24. At this time, clutch collar 25 and gear 24 rotate together,carrying with them a sleeve 26, upon which the clutch collar is splinedat 27, said sleeve, in turn, being keyed to the shaft 18, at 28. It isclear that rotation of the shaft 18 will cause the gear wheels 15 and 16to turn, because they mesh with pinions 29 and 30, upon the ends of theshaft 18, and that this rotation of the gears 15 and 16 will bring aboutan actuation of the side rammers 0r peans, in the manner disclosed in myaforesaid prior patent. That is to say, the rotation of the shafts 12and 13 will, through the cranks 9 and 10, and connecting links 30 and31, impart a reciprocation to the shanks 6 and 7, of the side rammers.It will further be clear that if the clutch collar 25 be held againstturning, that the parts normally driven thereby will likewise be heldagainst movement. Consequently, movement to the right, in Fig. 6 of thecollar 25, will cause its engagement with the brake drum 32, which issupported in a fixed bearing collar 33, and when the clutch collar 25 isengaged with the brake drum, the brake is applied to the shaft 18, andto the parts normally driven thereby. In like manner, if a clutch collar34, (see Fig. 6), be shifted to the right to bring it into engagementwith the gear 24, rotation will be imparted to the clutch collar, and toa sleeve 35, upon which said clutch collar is splined. This sleevecarries a bevel pinion 36, which constitutes the driving element of thegear 17, transverse shaft 14, and the butt rammers connected therewith.If the clutch collar 34 be. shifted to the left, in Fig. 6, it will bebrought into engagement with the brake drum 37, which is fixed in abearing collar 38, and when in this latter position, clutch collar 34,sleeve 35, pinion 36, and the parts driven thereby, are braked. To bringabout the shifting of the collars 35 and 34 at the proper time, shiftinglevers 39 and 40 are pivoted at 41 and 42, the upper ends of said leversbeing provided with yokes 43 and44,-of a conventional nature, whichengage the collars 34 and 35. Stop discs 45 and 46 are mounted upon thecrank shafts 12 and 14. These stop discs are provided with notches 51and 52, which coact with pawls 53 and 54.

The levers 39 and 40 may be grasped and actuated hand, but I prefer toemploy a single actuating member for these levers, consisting of a lever40, which is pivoted at 40 and carries a grooved disc 40, said girooveddisc receiving the confronting edges of both of the levers 39 and 40.Thus, if the handle constituted by the lower portion of 40 be swung inone direction. the disc 40 will thrust against one of the levers, and ifthe handle be swung in the other direction said :disc will be :thrustagainst the other of said levers.

In the operation of the machine, the lever 40 is first moved to throwthe collar 25 into engagement with gear. 24. This sets the side rammersin operation. It also sets in operation a timing disc 90, which iscarried by a gear wheel 91, that meshes with a pinion 92 on the crankshaft 13. Lever 40 is hold in its thrown position by the engagement offa tooth 92 carried by said. lever, with the teeth 93 of the latch lever94, that is pivoted at 95, and has its inner or free end connected by alink 96, with an arm 97. This arm 97 is fast upon a shaft 99., whichpasses through the frame 5 of the machine. Upon its inner end this shaftcarries an upstanding lever 100, that is pivotally connected to a rod101. A spring housing 102 contains a spring 103 which acts to thrust therounded head 104, of rod 101, into a recess 105 of the timing disc 90.\Vhen this recess, or notch, 105 is in alignment with the head 104, thespring 103 acts to raise the toothed lever .94, but after the timingdisc has started to revolve, and the notch out of alignment with thehead, the spring 103 is held in compressed condition and the lever 94 isheld down, so that its teeth 93 will engage the latch, bolt or tooth 92.and hold the lever 40 in its thrown position until the timing disc hasmade a complete revolution, and the notch 105 again comes into alignmentwith head 104. Since the gear 91 is much larger than the pinion 92 "itfollows that theside rammers may make quite a number of strokes beforethe timing disc will have made a complete revolution. The movement ofthe lever 40, as previously described, acted through a link 56, crankarm 57, and rock shaft 58 (see Figs. 1. 3 and 4) to rock the pawl out ofthe notch 52 of the stop disc or shaft 12. The movement of the handle40. which drew upon the link 56, as described, placed a spring 60 undertension, said spring bearing between a fixed member 61, on the frame,and a head 62 of a rod 63, that is pivoted at 64, to the lever 40.Consequently. after the timing disc 90 makes a full revolution, and thelatch lever 94 is lifted, said spring =60 acts to move the lever 40sharply back to its original or stop position. This return movement ofthe lever 40 acts to move the collar 25 into engagement with the brakedir'um 32., where it remains until the lever 40 is again positivelyactuated by hand to set the side rammers in operation. The returnmovement of the lever 40 acts through rod 56 and the parts to which itis connected, to throw the pawl 54 into the path of movement of theshoulder 52 formed by the notch 52, said pawl then acting as an abutmcntagainst which the stop disc comes to rest, thus insuring that themomentum of the :parts will be checked at exactly the same point intheir travel each time, and consequently, insuring that the side rammerswill come to a position of rest in their elevated positions. Thisinsures against the possibility of the side irammers coming to rest intheir lowermost positions, where they would be in the way of the buttrammers when the latter begin to operate. The butt rammer operatingshaft 14 is then set in operation by a manipulating handle 40 to throwthe lower portion of lever 39 to the left, in Fig. 1. This throws theupper portion of said lever toward the right and moves collar 34 intoengagement with gear 24. As previously described, this drives shaft 14through gear 17 and pinion 36. Operation of the butt rammers continuesfor a predetermined number of strokes, or until timing disc 110 which isdriven by pinion 111 and gear 112, from shaft 14, has made a completerevolution.

The function of the timing disc 110 is the same, with respect to shaft14, which drives the butt rammers, as that of the timing disc 90, withrespect to shaft 13. That is to say, it holds the latch lever 94 down,and in engagement with a latch, bolt or pin 92*, to thereby hold thelever 39 in its thrown position until the timing disc has made a complete revolution. The movement of the lever 39 to thrown position actedthrough link 70. crank arm 71, rock shaft 72, to throw pawl 53 out ofengagement with the notchel portion of the stop disc 45. When the timingdisc 110 has made a complete revolution and the plunger 104 snaps backin the recessed portion of said timing disc, the lever 94 is lifted outof engagement with the latch bolt 92, and the lever 39 is returned toits former position. Under the action of a spring 74, which bearsbetween a fixed member of the frame, and the head 76, of a rod 77, thatis pivoted at 78 to the lever 39, the return of the lever 39 to itsoriginal 1.)osition acts through links 70 and associated parts, to againthrow the latch into the notched portion of the stop disc 45, where saidlatch acts as an abutment to insure that the butt rammers will bebrought to a position of rest in elevated position. The return of thelever 39 to its former position also moves the collar 34 into engagementwith the brake drum 37, to thereby bring the parts promptly to rest. Thepawls 54 are cushioned by blocks of rubber 54*, or equivalent elements,which are seated in crank sleeves 549, that are carried by therespective rock shafts and 72. To prevent the pawls from accidentallyleaving these sleeves they are traversed by pins 80, which move inslotted portions 81, of the sleeves 54 In 5 and 6, I have illustrated amanner of separately connecting the peans or rammers proper to theshanks, by which they are carried. I find it of advantage to make theactual ramming elements 65 separable from the shanks 6, and to do this,I provide two-part heads 6-(3 upon the shanks, together with throughbolts 66 to clamp the two-parts (3 6 tightly together. Such clampingaction binds these parts upon studs 67 of the ramming elements proper.This construction may be utilized for either the butt rammers or theside rammers.

Any desired means may be employed for driving the conveying system ofthe machine, such, for example, as the bevel gear connections A, B and Cand pinion D meshing with gear 24. The particular means for securingthis drive are not of the essence of the invention since many ways maybe devised for securing the desired result.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the preciseconstruction set forth, but that it includes within its purview whateverchanges fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of theappended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A machine of the character described, comprising butt rammers andside rammers, an operating shaft for each set of rammers, a timingelement for each of said shafts driven in unison therewith, a motor, adriven element actuated by said motor, brake elements associated withsaid driven element, an operating element for the side rammer shaft andan operating element for the butt rammer shaft, means for engaging thedriven element with the operating element of the butt rammer shaft, andmeans operable when the timing element of the butt rammer shaft hasmoved a predetermined distance for disconnecting the operating elementof the butt rammer shaft from the driven element, and bringing it intoengagement with the brake elements.

2. A machine of the character described, comprising butt rammers andside rammers, an operating shaft for each set of rammers, a timingelement for each of said shafts driven in unison therewith, a motor, adriven element actuated by said motor, brake elements associated withsaid driven element, an operating element for the side rammer shaft andan operating element for the butt rammer shaft, means for engaging thedriven element with the operating element of the butt rammer shaft, amanually operable lever serving as the actuating means for said engagingmeans, and means under control of the timing element of the butt rammershaft for moving said lever to disconnect the operating element of thebutt rammer shaft from the driven element and for bringing said shaftinto connection with the brake elements.

3. A machine of the character described, comprising butt rammers andside rammers, an operating shaft for each set of rammers, a timingelement for each of said shafts driven in unison therewith, a motor, agear wheel actuated by said motor, brake elements associated with saidgear wheel, an operating element for the side rammer shaft, an operatingelement for the butt rammer shaft, and means for engaging the drivenelement with either of the said operating elements, and means controlledby the timing element of the so engaged operating element fordisconnecting said driven element from said operating element, andengaging it with the corresponding brake element.

4. A machine of the character described, comprising butt rammers andside rammers, an operating shaft for each set of rammers, a timingelement for each of said shafts driven in unison therewith, a motor, aloose driven gear operated by said motor, an operating element for theside rammer shaft, an operating element for the butt rammer shaft, andmeans for engaging either of said operating elements with said loosegear wheel.

5. A machine of the character described, comprising butt rammers andside rammers, an operating shaft for each set of rammers, a timingelement for each of said shafts driven in unison therewith, a motor, aloose driven gear operated by said motor, an operating element for theside rammer shaft, an operating element for the butt rammer shaft, meansfor engaging either of said operating elements with said loose gearwheel, and means under control of the respective timing elements fordisconnecting the respective operating elements from the loose gear.

6. A machine of the character described, comprising butt rammers andside rammers, an operating shaft for each set of rammers, a timingelement for each of said shafts driven in unison therewith, a motor, amain drive shaft for actuating the butt rammers, a gear wheel driven bythe motor and loosely mounted upon said shaft, a sleeve engaged with themain drive shaft, a clutch collar engaged with said sleeve and adaptedto engage said loose gear, a fixed brake element adapted to be engagedby said clutch collar, a second sleeve engaged with the butt rammershaft, a clutch collar adapted to connect the second sleeve with theloose gear, and a brake element adapted to be engaged by said clutchcollar.

7. A machine of the character described, comprising butt rammers andside rammers, an operating shaft for each set of rammers, a timingelement for each of said shafts driven in unison therewith, a motor, amain drive shaft for actuating the butt rammers, a gear wheel driven bythe motor and loosely mounted upon said shaft, a sleeve engaged with themain drive shaft, a clutch collar engaged with said sleeve and adaptedto engage said loose gear, a fixed brake element adapted to be engagedby said clutch collar, a second sleeve engaged with the butt rammershaft, a clutch collar adapted to connect the second sleeve with theloose gear, a brake element adapted to be engaged by said clutch collar,independent manually operable levers for shifting said clutch collars,and means under control of the timing elements for lockino said leversin the position in which the crutch collars are engaged with the loosegear.

8. A machine of the character described, comprising butt rammers andside rammers, an operating shaft for each set of rammers, a timingelement for each of said shafts driven in unison therewith, a motor, amain drive shaft for actuating the butt rammers, a gear wheel driven bythe motor and loosely mounted upon said shaft, a sleeve engaged with themain drive shaft, a clutch collar engaged with said sleeve and adaptedto engage said loose gear, a fixed brake element adapted to be engagedby said clutch collar, a second sleeve engaged with the butt rammershaft, a clutch collar adapted to connect the second sleeve with theloose gear, a brake element adapted to be engaged by said clutch collar,independent manually operable levers engaged with the clutch collars forshifting the same, spring means tending to move said levers to throw theclutch elements out of engagement with the loose gear, and intoengagement with the brake elements, locking means for holding the leversin the position where the clutch collars are engaged with said gear,means under control of the timing elements for releasing said lockingmeans, and spring means tending to move the levers to braking position.

9. A machine of the character described, comprising butt rammers andside rammers, an operating shaft for each set of rammers, a rotativenotched timing disc for each of said shafts driven in unison therewith,a motor, a main drive shaft for actuating the butt rammers, a gear wheeldriven by the motor and loosely mounted upon said shaft, a sleeveengaged with the main drive shaft, a clutch collar engaged with saidsleeve and adapted to engage said loose gear, a fixed brake elementadapted to be engaged by said clutch collar, a second sleeve engagedwith the butt rammer shaft, a clutch collar, adapted to connect thesecond sleeve with the loose gear, a brake element adapted to be engagedby said clutch collars, spring means tending to move said levers in onedirection, pawls engageable in the notches of said discs connected withsaid levers and acting to hold said levers in thrown position exceptwhen the pawls are in the notches of the timing discs.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH STONE.

